Don't Ask Me to Stay
“I think we just took a huge step in human-alien relations.” I say, not able to suppress the giggle in my throat. I sigh in happiness and grab Michael’s hand. “I love you Michael.” I say, a pleasant smile on my face.
He doesn’t say anything at first, but then squeezes my hand and sighs. “I love you too… but I have to leave.” I look at him strangely. “Max, Isabel, Tess, and I are going home.”
“Yeah I know Like eventually, right?” I don’t
understand why he’s bringing this up now.
He looks down at me sadly. “We’re leaving in a few hours.” What? What the hell is he talking about? He’s leaving? My face drops and he can see the sadness in my eyes. “We have to, I have no choice. I don’t want to leave you.” I don’t want you to leave, I think. “But we both knew that someday this would happen.”
He’s right, we both knew. That was one of the risks involved in this, that one day Michael would go back to his planet. I want to be mad, and angry at him, but I can’t. My heart hurts too much to be angry. “How much time do we have?” I ask, wanting to cherish every second of it.
“About an hour.” He tells me. I roll over and he places his arm underneath my head, and I rest my head on his chest. He holds me like this for a few seconds and we are silent.
My mind is reeling with thoughts. He’s leaving. He’s not just leaving the city, state or even the country. No, he’s leaving the planet. He’s going where I can’t follow.
“I want to lay like this forever.” He tells me, kissing the top of my head.
“Then why don’t we?” I ask, a few stray tears, rolling down my cheeks.
“I wish I didn’t have to go.”
I sit up, still holding the blanket close to my naked body. I think I might throw up. This is real, Michael is leaving.
“Maria…” Michael’s warm hand touches my back. I start to cry, softly at first, but within a few moments, I’m shaking violently and sobbing loudly and Michael’s arms are tightly around me. “Maria, please don’t do this. Please, don’t cry.” He begs, I can tell from the sound of his voice that he’s on the verge of tears as well. I want to stop, I want to be strong for him, but I can’t.
I grab one of Michael’s t-shirts from the floor and throw it on. I run to the bathroom and slam the door.
I hear Michael outside the door. He knocks softly. “Maria.” He says.
* * *
She gets up, grabs one of my t-shirts and races to the bathroom. I grab my boxers and throw them on, following her. By the time, I’ve reached the bathroom she’s slammed the door. I knock softly, knowing that she isn’t taking this well. “Maria.” I say.
I hear her start retching and I open the door. There is my little pixie, leaning over my toilet. She’s crying and throwing up and her whole body is convulsing. I kneel beside her, placing my hand on her back for comfort. She flinches at first, but squeezes her eyes shut and the retching begins again.
“Maria, you have to calm down.” I say, rubbing her back. “Please.” Seeing her like this is hell. She doesn’t comprehend what I’m saying because she continues throwing up, until there isn’t anything left in her stomach to throw up. She’s just dry heaving now.
She finally stops and falls into me, sobbing. I kiss her temple, and hold her. “It’s ok Baby, it’s going to be ok.” I say, trying to calm her down.
She eventually stops sobbing and looks at me. Her emerald green eyes are looking at me sadly. I lean into kiss her, but she pushes me away.
“I need to brush my teeth.” She chokes out.. “I’ll be out in a second”
I hesitantly get up and slowly, close the door behind me. Once I’m out of the bathroom, I collapse on my bed, burying my face in my hands. How can I leave her like this? She’s a mess. She just lost her best friend and I’m leaving her too.
After a few minutes she exit’s the bathroom, looking embarrassed. “I’m sorry.” She whispers.
I hold out my arms. “Come here.” I say. She sits on my lap and I kiss her lips softly. “I love you Maria. I don’t want to go. I have to. Please understand.”
She nods her head. “I do.”
“Ok.” I say, pulling her closer.
“Can I come with you?” She asks, completely shocking me.
“Hell no!” I cry. She looks hurt and I realize that sounded like I didn’t want her with me. “I mean… Maria, it’s going to be dangerous. We don’t know what’s going to happen. You could die, or worse. No.”
“You could die too.” She insists. I look sadly at her and she shuts her mouth. She really isn’t making this easy.
“Ummm… Michael?” She says after a few moments of silence.
“Yeah?” I say.
“If I asked you too, would you stay for me?”
* * *
“Ummm… Michael?” I say after a few moments of silence. I have a question, one that I have to know the answer too.
“Yeah?” He says.
I swallow and look at him. “If I asked you too, would you stay for me?” I know it’s unfair, but I need to know.
Michael bites his bottom lip. “Please don’t ask me to stay Maria… please.” He asks, almost pleading.
I shake my head. “No.” He’s gotten the wrong idea. “I would never do that.” I tell him. “But if I did, would you?”
He slowly nods his head. “I would do anything for you, Maria.”
I lean in and kiss him hard. He wraps his arms around me, deepening the kiss. He pulls me down on top of him and I look into his eyes. “Will you come back to me?” I ask.
“I’ll try. I’ll do whatever is possible to come back to you.” He tells me. “I promise.” And I know that he’s telling the truth. I know that he’ll try.
“I’ll wait. I’ll wait forever.” Michael pulls me down, crushing our bodies together, kissing me. He slips his hand up my shirt, slowly taking it over my head and I push his boxers down. He rolls over so he’s on top and kisses me gently on the forehead. I know that this is the last time that we’ll ever make love, and I have to accept that.
* * *
I’m holding her tightly against my chest when my alarm clock starts beeping. She looks at me with sad eyes as I throw the damn thing against the wall. Hell I won’t need it anymore and it ruined my Maria time.
She sits up slowly, turning away from me. “You better get dressed.” She tells me quietly.
I get up and grab some clothes, throwing them on. I don’t care what I’m wearing. It doesn’t matter to me.
Once I’m dressed, I sit back on the bed and caress Maria’s cheek. She reaches up and runs her fingers through my hair. She’s smoothing it out and attempting to style it. “Gotta look good when you get home. Can’t have you looking messy and unkempt now can we?” She asks, more tears threatening to spill from her eyes any moment.
I shake my head. “No.” I whisper. God, that’s my Maria. Always taking care of me. Who will take care of my when I’m gone. Or better yet, who will take care of her?”
She grabs her watch off of the night stand and looks at it. “You better go.” She tells me.
I nod, words not forming in my mouth. What can I possibly say to her, that’s going to make this ok?
She wraps her arms around my neck, hugging me, and I wrap my arms around her waist. This is the last time I’ll ever get to hold her next to me. She fits so perfect.
I kiss her forehead as we part and smile. “When they ask me what I liked the best, I’ll say you.” I tell her.
That gets a laugh. “That’s from City of Angels! Cheater.” She smirks. Thank God, a smile from my pixie.
“It may not be my own, but it’s the truth.” I say, and it is. She’s the one thing on this planet that I lived for. She’s the only thing that I lived for. I look at her watch and know that it’s time. I open my mouth to say goodbye, but she covers it with her finger.
“Don’t say goodbye.” She says, biting her bottom lip, trying not to cry. “Goodbye is forever and I couldn’t handle it if I believed you’d be gone forever. Just say… see ya.”
I nod. “See ya.” I say. My voice is barely a whisper as my own tears start to spill.
“I love you. Behave.” She say with a look of warning. “And make me proud.” She adds.
“I will. I love you too.” I lean in and kiss her, knowing that it’s the last time, but I accept it. It has to be. We knew this day would come.
She breaks the kiss, knowing that I wouldn’t, and I stand up. She sits in my bed, wrapped in the blankets, with a bittersweet smile on her face.
“See ya, Michael.” She says.
“See ya, Maria.” I turn away, not looking back, as hard as it is. I walk to the door. As my hand touches the cool metal, it takes everything inside of me to turn the handle and leave. I want to go back so bad, I want to hold Maria in my arms and tell her that I love her and I’ll be with her forever, but I on’t. I walk out the door and shut it behind me. My life on Earth is over.
As I get on my bike I look towards my apartment. I can see Maria through the window. She’s sobbing on the bed. I want to go back to her, but I don’t. “Goodbye.” I whisper. I start my bike and ride off, the wind blowing through my hair, a single thought lingering in my mind. I wish she would have asked me to stay.
The End!
